Plant kinda broke during transplant...will it die? +REP

messycan

Well-Known Member
I transplanted 5 plants into bigger pots because they were getting root bound. I had no problems with them except for one. I turned the plant upside down to remove her from the pot. She wouldn't come out so I pulled a bit on the stem and I heard it rip from the root system just below the stem in the soil. She didn't completely break off. What I did was then put more soil around the stem so that she could stay up on herself...else she would wilt over. After I watered her she is nice and firm in the dirt...but will she die? She is about 5 weeks old.

anyone?
 

Sure Shot

Well-Known Member
That is the most dangerous part of the whole grow. Whether or not she will die is yet to be known. One thing for sure is that she is hurt bad.
A best case scenario is that she will grow new roots that will make it through that dying clump of roots underneath her.
All you can do is give her plenty of Nitrogen and say a prayer to Shiva. One thing for certain is that her growth will be severely stunted.
Worst case scenario, the feds bust your door down.
 

itzCESAR*

Well-Known Member
Think of it as a broken bone. It will heal as long as it is taken care of *A.K.A. Don't mess w/ it. Avoid shaking it or anything like that. I would even make a little cast (not kidding). This will cause extreme stunting in it's growth as previously stated (Sure Shot). It will come back, but it will not be in sync w/ the other plants.
 

Smoke Yoshi

Active Member
TAPE IT, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE! i was actually watching a video today, and a kid had to tape his plant he broke, and they will recover, the video was saying mary jane was resilient and can bounce back well, he also had a crowded space and used to break branches sticking his arm in to water and he taped those to, saying tape and band aids work! it was a see more buds video!
 

itzCESAR*

Well-Known Member
TAPE IT, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE! i was actually watching a video today, and a kid had to tape his plant he broke, and they will recover, the video was saying mary jane was resilient and can bounce back well, he also had a crowded space and used to break branches sticking his arm in to water and he taped those to, saying tape and band aids work! it was a see more buds video!
I was gonna recommend the same thing, b/c it does work for branches and small injuries, but if dealing w/ the trunk I would be so scared to touch it lol. I mean one wrong move, and there goes the whole thing :wall:
 

ctemp1

Well-Known Member
The light fell on my plant and three branches kinda broke and they died. this is my first grow and i am not a plany expert. i tried to tap them back together but they just never came back. I hope it works for you though. good luck. keep us posted
 

mj320002

Well-Known Member
Once I had my light chain swing down and chopped the whole plant off at the base. It was only a few weeks old. I put the top back on, poured honey all over the damaged area, then made a brace with two Popsicle sticks and put some bandaids around it. After a little while, about or week or two I was able to take the bandaid and brace off and the plant was fine. It just had a large bump in the trunk from where it had healed.

I know your situation is a little different since you probably can't get down to where yours broke but there is a good chance it will survive.
 

Resident Kush

Well-Known Member
honestly we need a how to transplant sticky, and a whats root bound sticky

NEVER NEVER EVER ! transplant before the sides start to seperate from the container.

Root bound - means you can beat someone to death with the roots of your plant, tap the roots, if theres any give or any soil falls off, ITS NOT ROOTBOUND.. just because there is roots coming out of the bottom, means the roots have reached the bottom, again Not root bound

hear the same ill advice every day on this site
 

mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
I transplanted 5 plants into bigger pots because they were getting root bound. I had no problems with them except for one. I turned the plant upside down to remove her from the pot. She wouldn't come out so I pulled a bit on the stem and I heard it rip from the root system just below the stem in the soil. She didn't completely break off. What I did was then put more soil around the stem so that she could stay up on herself...else she would wilt over. After I watered her she is nice and firm in the dirt...but will she die? She is about 5 weeks old.

anyone?
did you put a stake in and tie her to it. this will take the stress off of her from leaning. at any time you bend, shred or break a limb does not man it will die. at anytime any of that happens just tie up the branch that's broken tell it is strait and it will heal. she will create a knot where the damage is in a few days. then in about a week or so you can release the tie.
 

Brick Top

New Member
What happened is one reason why I plant in the largest pot size I am using and avoid repotting. I really do not see a reason or a need to start in small pots and then repot and repot.

My family owns a nursery and one of the very many things I have learned is that as soon as your roots begin to circle the pot your plant undergoes stress so unless you repot before any circling occurs your plants will be stressed.

The less you have to handle your plants the less chance there is of damaging one.

Something that could be done in the case of some roots being torn off, though I am not a big fan of doing it, is you can remove some leaves to offset the need for moisture that your reduced root system now cannot deliver.

So you cut off, lets just say for an example our quarter of the leaves. The plant loses less moisture through transpiration so the reduced root mass can keep up with what it needed by the rest of the plant. The plant is less efficient now because it lost leaves that take in sun so it will not grow as fast or produce as much yield.

Or you leave all the leaves and the plant cannot draw enough moisture as is needed and some leaves dry up and die and fall off and if the plant lives you have a less efficient plant because of the reduced number of leaves taking in light so your growth slows and your production drops and maybe instead of just some leaves drying up and falling off the entire plant dies due to lack of moisture.

Which is the lesser of two evils? Pick your poison and take a big drink because those are your two options.
 

mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
i agree. i go from my clone thats in rockwool to a 16 oz cup after she roots.then when i no they are going to make it, it off to the 19 gal. pots.
 

Brick Top

New Member
i agree. i go from my clone thats in rockwool to a 16 oz cup after she roots.then when i no they are going to make it, it off to the 19 gal. pots.

That’s the way to do it. Go from the smallest thing they will be in right into the largest thing/pot size you will use and leave them the heck alone plus use the biggest pots you can use for the size of your area and number of plants. You are better off with a little unused soil in your pots that roots never use or hardly use than having jam-packed roots.

What many people do not realize is that your root size pretty much equates to your plant size, minus the leaf size. I have told people a ton of times imagine trying to cram your entire plant into the size pot you are using and see if you think it would fit comfortably of be jammed in like mad.

If I am growing some strain that is a smaller plant and not a really bushy type I will use a smaller pot, but not tiny, but otherwise nothing under 7-gallons is even considered and if my area was larger I would go a good bit larger.

I say figure out how many pots of the largest possible size you can fit in your area and cover with light and will be needed for the number of plants you will grow and then go with it. Sometimes that may still mean pots that are smaller than I would normally approve of but it is better than how some people try to grow in tiny pots and then wonder why they have problems and do not have full lush plants.

I have said it here before and other places to and also in person. When it comes to picking a pot size think like a female ……. Bigger is better ….. and then find that bigger one and get into it as soon as is possible you will be happy that you did.

I wonder if guys have some Freudian thing going on in their minds when they pick their pot size and subconsciously think that smaller and tighter is the way to go?
 

itzCESAR*

Well-Known Member
Man, I love this dude Brick Top. Yesterday it was a lesson in genetics. Today it's pot size. It's like this dude knows everything. Brick Top, if I could I would give you more +rep for this post as well. Sadly I cannot due to giving it to you yesternight : ) Keep it up man!
 

messycan

Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone...I need to distribute +REP for all the help. The plant didnt break at the stem, but at the soil where there are roots. Not all of them broke, only about half...its been 24 hours and this is how she looks:

The first pic you can see the base of the plant..nothing broke there..she is in there nice and firm. You can see how she looks in the 2nd pic, and in the 3rd pic she is the one all the way to the left by the thermometer.

Like I said its been 24 hours and she isn't showing signs of dying...but I will keep a close eye on her in the next few days.

And the reason why I transplanted was because when I first purchased my pots I thought they were 3 gallon..but in actuality they were 2 gallons. When I removed them they were completely white around the pots. If I had the correct pots to begin with, I wouldn't of transplanted. I started them from sprouts in the large pots.

24 hours she looks OK...hopefully she will survive!
 

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mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
good deal. it really takes alot to kill a plant. just think about it this way, if you can completly cut a plant ,branch,bud in half and graft or clone and they live, that should tell you how tuff this weed really is. glade thins worked out good luck and keep us posted.
 

messycan

Well-Known Member
Just a same-day update...they all sprouted their first white hairs today! Even the broken one lol...im so excited...updates in my journal!
 
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